Month: December 2016

As Arlington resident and suburban mom Ruth Faas leads a plumber down the stairs off her kitchen, she warns him he might find her basement a bit unusual, and maybe even disturbing.

That’s because it contains the inventory for her business neatly stacked against a wall: coffins.

How did a nice mom like Faas end up with a basement like this?

It’s in her blood. Her uncle ran a funeral home in western New York, a few hours away from where she grew up in Albany. For three summers she baby-sat her young nephews in their living quarters above the home.